The immigration detention center Florida called “Alligator Alcatraz” has shut down, but questions about who pays for it are still open. The federal government awarded Florida more than $600 million through FEMA last year to help fund the Everglades facility, and only part of that money has gone out so far. According to USAspending.gov, just over $134 million has been dispersed.
Two federal reviews have renewed scrutiny of the grant. A Department of Homeland Security inspector general report found the center fell short of several basic standards for environmental health, safety, medical care, food service and hygiene. Some detainees said they lacked clean drinking water, and inspectors documented people being held in what the report called “small metal enclosures.”
A separate Government Accountability Office report focused on cost. It found Immigration and Customs Enforcement had not finalized a contract with Florida before detainees arrived. Florida’s approved reimbursement rate was $249 per detainee per day, compared with ICE’s reported median detention bed rate of $92, a difference of 171%.
Neither report concludes Florida broke the terms of its FEMA grant. Stetson University law professor Anthony Palermo, who specializes in contracts, said federal agencies usually first check whether a recipient met the specific requirements of a grant. He said FEMA can still review spending, conduct audits and seek to reverse reimbursements it considers unreasonable.
Gov. Ron DeSantis dismissed the findings and defended the state’s handling of the facility. He said federal money continues to flow to Florida. Neither the governor’s office nor the Florida Department of Emergency Management responded to questions about how the reports could affect the funding.
